NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 49
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“Got my phone and charger.”
Of course, the electricity was cut off in the abandoned building I’d turned into my hideout, but there was a small generator around, and I managed to find a charger after looking around.
Meanwhile, the sounds of people gathering outside grew louder.
“Well, I guess I did stir up quite a ruckus.”
Among them were hunters, probably drawn by the commotion. With a crowd blocking the entrance, it seemed tough to just walk out.
“Even with C-rank Stealth, this is pushing it.”
Even with my tentacle, Lee Baek-seom, on alert, I couldn’t be spotted just before an attack, but I definitely lacked the confidence to stroll past such a big crowd.
“I need a good plan…”
Hiding and waiting is one option, but the Clan Leader of the Forest of Euna would be coming, so sticking out would be expected. After a brief consideration, I opened a window leading to the back of the building and into an alley.
“I would have been scared of this before.”
I guess rolling around like this had changed my perception. I jumped down from the building and landed lightly.
“Let’s get out of here for now.”
I couldn’t afford to make the same mistake as last time. Staying in stealth mode, I slipped into a building a fair distance away.
“This should be far enough not to get chased?”
It looked like an office building, but it seemed everyone had clocked out because there was nobody around. After all, who stays late at the office past 1 AM?
“Just borrowing some electricity for a bit.”
As I charged my phone, I turned it on.
“Oh, great…”
It had a pattern lock. I sighed heavily as I tried to trace the pattern with my tentacle.
“When did I end up doing this?”
It locked me out for 30 seconds after each 5 failed attempts. While I was failing at that, a call came in.
***
Right in front of the door, the Team Leader took a breath.
“Are we going in?”
“I’m unsure. But in the end, don’t you think the rats will all scatter?”
“If we can take out a facility like this, that in itself is a gain.”
“Well, I don’t know? They’d just sell the tunnels again, right?”
There was no thought of going back. The tail, Lee Baek-seom, met the Team Leader’s gaze.
“In fact, while coming this far, you’ve sensed it, right? We need to tidy up. Or do you still suspect me?”
At the question of going back, the Team Leader shook his head.
“I trust you almost completely.”
“Oh my~ ‘Almost’?”
The Team Leader suppressed the wriggling monster.
“But do you trust me?”
“Of course! You’re good-looking!”
‘Crazy girl.’
The Team Leader regretted asking and rubbed his eyelids.
“It must be a Chimera. Is that right?”
“Yes~ That’s right!”
The flesh of the crushed Chimera squirmed, but the tail flicked her fingers and smiled.
“Phew. So, what about that scale? Where’s it leaning now?”
The tail made a startled expression.
“Hmm~ I think it’s starting to balance out?”
“From my perspective, it’s still leaning quite a bit. We can settle the balance later. Is there no reinforcements from the Square?”
“If you could give us just a little more time and budget…”
“Will reinforcements come?”
“Maybe…?”
Seeing her lack of confidence, the Team Leader shook his head.
‘I shouldn’t get my hopes up.’
“Let’s go in.”
***
“We have no idea what’s inside. Be cautious.”
As police controlled the gathering crowd, a temporary search team of hunters entered the building.
‘An elevator?’
The iron door was ripped off. It wouldn’t be operational anyway, being an abandoned building, but still…
“This is serious. Who on earth did this?”
“Let’s go up.”
As the representative Clan Leader, Euna, boldly ascended the stairs, the other hunters followed.
‘The stairs are all dug up.’
This meant things were urgent enough to use magic. Clearly, they were being chased, but I could see no tracks of whoever was chasing them.
‘They were being leisurely pursued?’
Just as they were about to go from the 4th to the 5th floor, they discovered many debris scattered across the staircase landing.
“Is the floor broken?”
“Look upstairs. That fell from up there.”
The debris that had fallen from the broken landing. Shining a flashlight on some parts revealed blood, warm and sticky to the touch.
“Not long ago…”
“They must have fought here, right?”
“That should be the case. But what kind of building is this?”
“I thought it was an abandoned building…”
Unlike the outside, the inside was relatively well organized.
“……”
Upon closer inspection, I noticed blood trails leading from the stairs to a room.
“Looks like they went into that room. Let’s follow.”
“Uh, yes. Understood.”
While other hunters remained on guard, Euna spread her magic wide.
‘As expected, no one is here.’
They must have already slipped away. Cautiously opening the door,煙雲 smoky air poured out.
“What is with all this smoke?”
The stench mixed with the dense smoke made Euna frown.
‘The smell of charred flesh.’
It was an image I dreaded, but it led to only one conclusion.
“No way?”
It seemed like there was another hunter who had the same thought. Euna sighed deeply.
‘Lee Baek-seom.’
He wasn’t someone I particularly liked, but he did his job. More than anything, it struck hard to hear that a B-class hunter had died so pointlessly.
Why on earth had he come here at this time of night? And who attacked him?
A multitude of questions tangled complicatedly in her mind.
‘And this fur…’
Black fur resembling a beast, and claw marks discovered everywhere… What in the world had happened?
***
‘Phone.’
Should I pick it up or not?
‘I can mimic their voice.’
After briefly adjusting the voice I was about to use, I pressed the call button.
[Why aren’t you picking up? You told me not to call on this phone!]
‘Did they have another phone?’
Surely they must have. A tail like this would at least have a burner phone. Should I be polite or speak casually? I trailed off while deciding.
“I was just tied up for a moment…”
[An intruder has appeared in building A! Can you help?]
“An intruder?”
[That crazy Tail is here!]
‘Tail?’
Wasn’t there someone haunting the rascals at this point? I was puzzled but decided to continue the conversation.
[Please help. If the lab’s destroyed, it’ll be a problem for you guys too, right? Agail won’t be back for a while.]
“…….”
[Damn it. Weren’t we allies? If Agail finds out about this, you won’t be safe either…]
I sort of grasped the relationship. They clung to the word ‘ally,’ meaning Lee Baek-seom, the Tail, was likely of higher status than the person he was talking to.
“…I understand.”
Hiding a slight unease, I replied casually, making the other person’s voice lower as if relieved.
[Phew. Please hurry. We’ll try to hold them off in building A, but if they reach building B…]
Luckily, I hadn’t been caught. I hung up and thought briefly.
‘Agail?’
I know Agail. I know who Agail Morest is.
‘It was a blind spot.’
The leader of the blind spot, it seemed the Tail was pursuing the blind spot rather than the rascals…
‘They said they were allies?’
Normally, I would have just shove off the problem instead of poking an anthill, but the person he was talking to just dropped the info that ‘Agail isn’t here now.’ Of course, he said he’d return, but the key point was that it was going to take time.
‘Then it doesn’t matter.’
To be honest, aside from Agail, the rest of the blind spot didn’t scare me much.
‘The square must be chasing after the blind spot.’
Is the Tail a mage of the square? If spotted to the point of a call for help, they wouldn’t have been able to come inform me. No, it’d probably mean the protagonist had never encountered the organization called the blind spot. What the heck was going on?
‘Never heard of a Tail before.’
Does this mean they were dead by now and not mentioned? Of course, it won’t be their real name but…
‘Let’s just go for now.’
Building A. Did they say Building A? I maximized my senses.
***
“Resistance has intensified.”
Those who only acted passively, trying to escape through the door, started moving actively. The Team Leader sighed as he parried the incoming magic.
“Why did we stick this on?”
“Oh, why? It was prepared for Romeo.”
“Ugh, let’s not even go there.”
As he tore off the heart-patterned decoration from the door handle, the Tail acted like she was crying.
“How could you do this? That’s just too much…”
“Let’s focus on the task at hand.”
“Yes~ Halucinaţie~.”
As the Tail’s purple magic spread briefly, it made the resisting mages’ eyes glaze over, and the Team Leader let out a hollow laugh.
“Wasn’t this something you could do solo?”
“Eh~ Doesn’t work on a Chimera.”
“With just a simple spell chant… what on earth are you?”
She wasn’t an ordinary figure even in the square. So the Tail brought her finger to her lips and winked.
“A secret makes woman woman.”
“Isn’t that from an old cartoon?”
“Oh my~ You know? I actually kinda like cartoons.”
The Team Leader beheaded the mages who were still seeing illusions.
‘It’s better to eliminate the threats for good.’
Though I was reluctant to get my hands dirty, it was still better than the risk of getting ambushed later.
“Phew. You must keep your promises.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll pester the Master so thoroughly, I’ll even find out the color of Chang-seon’s underwear!”
“No need for that.”
A firm reply. Seeing the wall separating them come down, the Team Leader pierced at its center. His thin sword clashed against the thick wall, which shattered into pieces.
“Whoa.”
Surprised, the Tail covered her mouth. Gu Jin-ha peered past the shattered wall and asked.
“How much longer?”
“No idea? I’ve never been here before. But I assume the levels are pretty much the same? These guys are all stragglers.”
“Stragglers?”
“You could call them the outcasts.”
At her slightly harsh words, he caught a brief moment to notice the unmistakable disdain in her eyes.
“Let’s keep moving.”
“Right~ We need to wrap this up fast~.”
***
‘This seems to be it.’
The traces of fierce fighting and faint smell of blood. At first glance, it looked like any abandoned building, but I could tell there was a grand space below.
“…….”
Not long after going inside, I found a path leading down to the basement.
‘…Such a clever setup.’
What was funny was how the hallway from the 1st to 2nd floor was particularly longer than the others. Lacking height, the space between the 1st floor ceiling and the 2nd floor’s flooring was palpable.
‘I know it’s a given, but.’
Spaces can hide but smells can’t. Soon I spotted a slight gap in the floor, and upon lifting it, a small opening appeared.
‘I guess I could crawl through.’
Too much space, and I’d attract attention.
‘I never thought there’d be a path leading to the basement on the 2nd floor.’
It caught me off guard. It was like the sewers way back; it seemed to be a basic option for them. As I slipped through the gap, I found stairs leading down, resembling a vertically hidden secret passage.
‘How long had they prepared for this?’
Abandoned building. It looked relatively ancient… Was it originally a property the rascals meant to use as a hideout? Perhaps the blind spot borrowed it. Whatever the case, going down the long staircase led me to a large basement just as expected.
‘Never guessed I’d find something like this.’
Maybe it was discovered and wiped out by the square. Presumably, the blind spot fled, leaving it behind. Following the long passage, I came across an enormous iron door.
‘It’s behind here.’
I twisted the doorknob, but it was locked. Debating whether to break it down or not, the door suddenly swung open.
“Of all people, the Team Leader…!”
Standing at the threshold was a sinister figure clad in a dark robe, frozen.
‘The Team Leader?’
Unless I misheard.
‘If I recall, the Team Leader is Gu Jin-ha, right?’
Why was the name of the Team Leader coming up? Did the Tail casually mention Gu Jin-ha?
‘No way, isn’t she crazy?’
If they called her a madwoman, I could accept that, but I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening.
“Ha, Halucinaţie―!”
The frozen figure recited the incantation. The figure wickedly turned up the corners of their mouth, but I tilted my head in confusion.
[All damage reduction (D) Lv.5 has reached maximum proficiency. All damage reduction (D) Lv.5 -> All damage reduction (D) Lv.6]
‘You think that’ll work?’
I confirmed earlier with my insight. Their magic level was 207. Any magic wouldn’t affect such a level. For a brief moment, the creature expressed suspicion but, noticing my inaction, chose to trust the magic had worked and began rambling.
“Phew. I didn’t let the monsters loose… but how did you break through?”
‘Ah, is that right? There are monsters here.’
That’s good intel. Once the monster stepped out the door, I pierced its heart with my tentacle.
“……!”
Not even able to scream, the figure met its end. Leaving the creature behind, I stepped inside the iron door.
‘They said there were monsters, right?’
This will do just fine. It was the perfect chance to gather the experience needed until I reached level 20. Extending my senses, I located what was likely the monster’s aura. Not long after, I smashed a partition and the mages inside gasped in horror.
“S-Skull Wolf?”
“The monster’s let loose! Quickly check!”
They all displayed the same panic. I pounced upon the nearest one, quickly killing it. The startled mages began to cast spells.
“Halucinaţie!”
“Halucinaţie!”
Similar spells with matching magical energy. Naturally, they didn’t reach me, and I eliminated two more before they could finish.
“Illusions don’t work!”
“Fereastra de gheață!”
The mages hurriedly began casting spells.
‘Ice spear?’
Clumsy and rough, yet sharp icicles sliced through the air. I simply dodged and killed the murmuring mage.
“Fereastra fulgerului―!”
This time, lightning shot forth. Watching the mages throw various spells my way, I sighed.
‘Are you serious?’
Those supposed ‘wizards’ had no strategy. At the very least, they could’ve used nets like Euna. It didn’t take even a minute to wipe them out.
‘Guess they’re still a low level.’
Perhaps it was just the right timing? I felt fortunate for visiting this place.
‘Blind Spot.’
The organization created by Agail Morest, who was the son and heir of the Butterfly of Covenant, the current master of the Purple Square. At this point, it was likely he had barely been cast out from the Purple Square.
‘Maybe 3 or 4 years?’
So the organization couldn’t have established itself well. They probably built this facility with the support of the rascals. Moreover, given the characteristics of the blind spot, they were likely still weak.
‘They must have gathered mages who couldn’t enter the square.’
They were barely worth calling mages. Those who had only learned rudimentary magic at the Academy came together. Among them, a very few must have put in the effort to join the clans, while even those failed.
‘That’s your blind spot.’
As the name suggests, it’s an area hidden from everyone’s sight.
‘That’s why it’s like this.’
Especially for mages, talent accounts for 99% of success in that profession, which is a pitiful reality. Those lacking talent find that no matter how much effort they put in, they achieve nothing. Sure, in the future, the story might change with why Agail was ousted…
‘Although Agail can’t do anything now, it’s best to nip the rest in the bud.’
This was an excellent opportunity, wasn’t it? It’s true I had grown stronger, but I wasn’t at the level to face someone who had once been an heir to the square.
“Kuaaaak!”
As I followed the sound, I found many monsters trapped in cages, all bound and unable to move.
‘What is this, a buffet?’
Feeling a bit elated with the unexpected prize, I opened the door and stepped inside. As they sensed my presence, they began their cries, some of the monsters even had muzzles on them.
Then I stumbled upon…
[Skull Wolf]
[Body Length 4.15m] [Body Height 1.56m] [Weight 560kg]
[Strength 246] [Agility 309] [Stamina 221] [Magic Power 145]
I spotted the Skull Wolf, which was nearly three times my size.
‘…That’s massive.’
Much larger than I had imagined.
‘Will I grow that big too?’
[You have consumed Skull Wolf. Experience points and satiety will increase.]
After consuming the Skull Wolf and a few others, I finally met the experience points needed to level up.
[Experience points have reached maximum. Lv.19 -> Lv.20]
Achieving level 20 was completed right as I returned to reality, so I immediately leveled up. After contemplating for a moment, I decided to devour all the remaining monsters.
[Evil Devour (D) Lv.8’s proficiency has reached maximum. Evil Devour (D) Lv.8 -> Evil Devour (D) Lv.9]
‘What a pity.’
Due to the low quality of the trapped monsters, I couldn’t gain enough experience to reach level 21.
‘This should be A Block.’
I hadn’t gone far yet, so it should definitely be A Block.
‘Surely they’ve mentioned Block B exists?’
The person I spoke with was quite worried about the intruder reaching Block B.
What on earth was in Block B? Was there a significant secret concealed there? Or perhaps a treasure hidden away?
‘Block B, huh…’
I slowly turned my body around.
‘Without Agail around.’
The few mages left were preoccupied with stopping the intruder.
‘No one seems to know I’ve entered.’
—People tend to get more inclined to do what they’re told not to do.
So, this is not my fault.
The Caligula effect is the bad one.
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